After the critical and commercial success of folk-rocker Tracy Chapman's 1988 single "Fast Car," her signature hit made the Grammy Awards' final Record of the Year and Song of the Year ballots. It failed to win either, though Chapman did earn a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance trophy. Thirty-five years after its release, "Fast Car" won a different Song of the Year honor in an unlikely scenario.
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Luke Combs covered "Fast Car" for his 2023 album Gettin' Old after several years of including it in his live set. His true-to-the-original studio version has topped Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, making it the first No. 1 in the genre that was written solo by a Black woman. More impressively, Combs' version reached No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, outperforming the Chapman original's No. 6 peak.
"Fast Car" won Song of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards. It's a songwriter's award, meaning it went to Chapman and not Combs. This, too, marked a first for a Black woman in country music history.
Chapman did not appear at the CMA Awards. She did, however, send along a statement that was read on air by presenter Sara Evans.
"It's truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut," the statement read. "Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of 'Fast Car.'"
In addition, Combs and his team won Single of the Year for "Fast Car," which is the CMA equivalent of the Grammys' Record of the Year category.
In his acceptance speech for Record of the Year, Combs applauded Chapman for writing "one of the best songs of all time."
"I just recorded it because I love this song so much," he said. "It's meant so much to me throughout my entire life."
Combs has been candid this year about why he reveres the song and the memories he connects to it.
"Me and my dad would ride around and listen to all sorts of things. My dad listens to everything," Combs said (as quoted by iHeart Country). "One of the first songs I remember hearing, he popped a cassette in, and — I loved this whole album — there was this one song that really stuck out to me, though, and it was called 'Fast Car.' That song has meant a lot to me ever since then. My whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on, and us spending time together. As soon as I could play guitar, I tried to learn how to play this song, and it took me so long to learn how to play it because I was so bad. Last year I got to record my own version."
"Fast Car" has a shot at winning another Grammy in 2024. Combs' version is in the running for Best Country Solo Performance.
